Google planning to use AMP format to make mobile pages render faster

Google’s AMP format has always been focusing on making mobile pages render faster. But Google is now taking it beyond posts, recipes and how-to articles. First, the company launched the new AMP story format earlier today and now it’s also posting a preview of AMP for Email.

At first, that may appear like an odd combination, specially given that few people complain about how slowly their emails render (they are mostly text, after all). Google argues that AMP is the right format to modernize email, afterall. Gmail product manager Aakash Sahney writes today, “Many people rely on email for information about flights, events, news, purchases and beyond—more than 270 billion emails are sent each day.” He even added, “With AMP for Email, it’s easy for information in email messages to be dynamic, up-to-date and actionable.”

Using AMP for Email, developers will be able to add an interactive calendar to your email, for instance, so you don’t have to go through five rounds of back-and-forth messages to find a meeting time. Similarly, a message from your airline could show you up-to-date flight information or a marketer could send you a survey that you can fill out right in your inbox without having to go to another site.

Over the years, Google has launched many projects to modernize email. Back in 2013, for instance, it launched customizable action buttons in Gmail. For the most part, though, emails have not really changed and every new format can only succeed if enough of Google’s competitors support it.

As of now, AMP for Email is only available to developers who request preview access. The plan is to roll support out to Gmail later this year.